When Mark was pulled over by an officer for driving while intoxicated, he was afraid his college football career was over. He was sure he was going to jail. But the policeman instead dropped him off at his college. When Mark asked why, he said, “I’m giving you grace.”
Still, the young man was certain his coach would find out, and he’d lose his scholarship. So when his coach asked to see Mark after practice the next day, he was very apprehensive. Surprisingly, the coach said, “I know what happened last night, but I’m giving you grace.” He then suggested that Mark consider attending church the next Sunday.
He went. And guess what the pastor talked about: the grace of Jesus in offering us salvation when we don’t deserve it. Mark got the message. That day, he trusted Jesus as Savior, and he spent the rest of his life serving Him. He even started a ranch for boys who need a second chance—who need grace.
It’s by God’s grace that believers in Jesus “have been saved” (Ephesians 2:8). Grace does what good works can’t do (v. 9; Romans 11:6). It’s a gift provided by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
The burden of our sin doesn’t have to weigh us down. As Mark discovered, God’s grace can free us and give us life “to the full” (John 10:10). And as we trust Jesus as Savior, the power of grace sets us free (Ephesians 2:4–5).
It began with an email a grieving father sent to me. He had lost his daughter Alyssa—a college junior—in a car accident, and he needed to hear from someone who understood his wrenching pain.
Nearly three hundred emails and four years later, Craig and I were finally able to meet in person. His job had taken him to a nearby city, so on a Sunday we shared a church service, lunch, and memories of our daughters: Melissa and Alyssa—two girls who made other people happy, enjoyed volleyball, loved Jesus, and innocently lost their lives in car accidents.
What was the essence of our conversation that day? We discussed our sadness. And we cried. But mostly we spoke of hope. True, authentic hope based on God’s promises. Paul explained the basis for this hope: “We do not want you to be uniformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and . . . God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–14). For the believer, beyond the grave is life—life eternal.
Craig and I ended the day by praying and thanking God that our daughters are secure in His loving arms. The shared love of Jesus binds hearts and gives hope in otherwise hopeless situations.
Belle wanted nothing to do with her parents’ faith in Jesus. In college, she proclaimed herself an agnostic and sought to live without God. But a breakup with her boyfriend and growing depression sent her on a downward spiral. She thought of ending her life.
In those depths of despair, she thought of her parents joy in Christ, and eventually trusted Him as Savior. Later, she heard a man speak about a people group in China who had never heard the gospel. She wanted to go there to tell them, but some people discouraged her because of the danger. She went anyway. Together with a young man she met in college and eventually married, Belle spent the rest of her life taking the gospel to people in China and Thailand. Thousands of people trusted Jesus, and the legacy of this woman, Isobel Kuhn, lives on in those lands.
Who gave a young woman a new life and hope and walked with her as she dealt with difficult life challenges? Jesus.
Are you wondering what life is about? Perhaps questioning your existence? Turn to Christ—"God’s one and only son” (John 3:18) who died for you (Romans 5:8). He loves you enough to provide life that lasts forever (John 3:16). Yes, “whoever believes in [Jesus] has eternal life” (3:36). And when we believe in Him, as Belle did, He will be with us as we face life’s challenges and help us extend His love to others.
It was Tuesday at the gym, so the people walking around the track were supposed to go clockwise. The first walkers my wife joined were doing that. But then another person walked onto the track going counterclockwise. A couple of her friends joined her—and then another. Suddenly there was chaos on the track—and it took a few minutes to restore order.
While no harm was intended by the wrong-way walkers, I couldn’t help but think about the power of influence. One person headed the wrong way leads to another, and on it goes. It’s a bit like Proverbs 13:20: “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Following the lead of a person going the wrong way leads to trouble.
In Galatians 5, Paul explains how such a mistake can halt our spiritual progress. “You were running a good race,” he says. “Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you” (vv. 7-8). God, who desires obedience, never leads us away from truth and “into confusion” (v. 10). But those who oppose His truth can hamper our spiritual walk by redirecting us from Him.
God wants to be our guide. When we walk with Him we’ll never wander in the wrong direction.
Something unusual happens in ten short verses starting with Acts 7:59. The story turns quickly from Stephen’s horrific death by stoning to other believers in Christ being scattered and “preaching the word,” leading to these amazing words: “There was great joy in [the] city” (8:8).
That’s the paradox of persecution.
European pastor Hristo Kulichev experienced the miracle of good coming from evil. In the 1980s, he was arrested for preaching and thrown in prison. While there, he spoke openly about the gospel of Jesus. On his release eight months later, he said, “We had a more fruitful ministry there than we could have expected in church. God was better served by our presence in prison than if we had been free.”
From persecution to great joy—just like in the early church. When “great persecution broke out” (Acts 8:1), “those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (v. 4). As a result, there was “great joy” in a city in Samaria (v. 8).
When forces in our world stand against the truths and teachings of Scripture—especially the gospel—that’s not the time to give up. God moves in powerful ways when the church faces such difficulties.
Peter said, “Do not be surprised” at such fiery trials. You’re “blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Peter 4:12–14). God has the power to turn persecution into something precious.
Climbing Jamaica’s Dunn’s River Falls is an exhilarating experience. Water cascades over the smooth rocks of the Falls on its way to the Caribbean. It’s a challenge as climbers battle the water’s flow to make their way to the top. For a teenager named JW, it’s a near impossibility. He’s sight-impaired, with only a pinhole view of the world.
But JW was determined to climb, and his friend Josiah was willing to team up with Him. Josiah was JW’s eyes—telling him which slippery rocks to avoid and where to put his hands and feet. And JW was Josiah’s heart—showing him what courage looks like.
So much of life is like that daunting climb: we shouldn’t walk alone. King Solomon points us to that truth. “Two people are better than one, for they can help each other succeed” (Ecclesiastes 4:9
God’s design for people, presented clearly by Solomon and demonstrated vividly by these two teenagers, is that we work together. The tasks God calls us to do are best done with others—each using what skills and emotions God has given to bring an outcome that points to Him.
Before he was martyred for his steadfast faith in Jesus, an African minister whose name has not been preserved penned “A Martyr’s Prayer.” This profound message from another era has become known as “The Fellowship of the Unashamed.”
This pastor’s words present a challenge to all believers in Jesus—a challenge that echoes the words of the apostle Paul, who wrote in his letter to his young friend Timothy: “Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord” (2 Timothy 1:8) because the Holy Spirit gives us “power, love and self-discipline” (v. 7).
Here, in part, is what that faithful African pastor wrote: “I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of [Jesus] and I won’t back up, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. . . . I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by the Holy Spirit’s power.”
Both Timothy and that pastor faced difficulties we may never experience, but their words challenge us to stand strong when our faith is tested. We can remain unashamed because God “is able to guard what [we] have entrusted to him” (v. 12)—our lives and our future.
After a late summer thunderstorm ripped through our city, we had to deal with tree damage to our house plus a major cleanup of our leaf-and-branch-strewn yard. As I spent the following day dealing with the damage and the tree debris, I tried to humor myself by repeating: “We don’t have any trees!” It’s true. Other than three tiny, three-foot-tall pines, we don’t have them. Yet I spend considerable time cleaning up after storms or falling leaves due to neighbors’ trees.
Neighbors. How do we interact with them—even when something they’ve done or grown or said bothers us? Scripture is clear on this: it states “love your neighbor as yourself” nine times—including Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 19:19, Mark 12:31, Galatians 5:14, and James 2:8. In fact, this is the second greatest commandment God has given us. The first is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart . . . soul . . . strength [and] mind” (Luke 10:27). One of the keys to showing love to neighbors is how we interact with them. James explained this by saying, “Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (1:19).
This isn’t always easy. It goes against our nature. Yet loving our neighbor is to be our first response. As God helps us, Let’s shine Jesus’ light of love on those who share life with us—our neighbors.
Michael Sparks walked into a thrift store and bought a souvenir copy of the US Declaration of Independence for $2.48. Later, as he looked closely at his parchment copy, he felt there was something unusual about it. So he had it assessed by experts, who told him it was one of now thirty-six remaining copies of two hundred commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1820. Sparks then sold his rare copy of the Declaration for $477,650!
While the acquisition of this treasure for such a small price is astounding, there’s a treasure that’s infinitely better. As a child, I found out about a priceless, matchless, and eternal treasure that didn’t cost me a cent. But I didn’t find it at a thrift store.
My parents revealed to me that a man named Jesus had purchased this gift by giving His life on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins. They then told me this gift was called salvation. It promised the treasure of an abundant “life to the full” on earth (John 10:10) and an “eternal life . . . life in [God’s] Son” with Jesus (1 John 5:11-12). I accepted that gift by faith.
It's amazing to find an earthly treasure at low cost, but that can’t compare with the eternal treasure Christ offers at no cost. This treasure offered to each person is received as we “believe in name of the Son of God”—Jesus (v. 13).
